Liverpool banter 8

04 Nov 2026 06:28:49
Ed001
What's your thoughts on Camara
He is versatile, a good passer, is he a natural aggressor, strong in the tackle, good reader of the game?
I have seen next to nothing of him as I have no interest in the French league
Interested to see if you think he would be a good fit?

{Ed001's Note - I have not seen enough of him to be sure, the little I have seen he looked good, but I wouldn't say it was enough.}

04 Nov 2026 07:57:32
Honestly we looked fine with Mac and Trey but I fear we will shoehorn Sob in and it's all going to be a mess again.

Sob and Wirtz should be competing for the 10 spot (which may actually help them both get better at it)

04 Nov 2026 08:27:47
Dom and Nyoni looked ok in pre season. Would like to see a Nyoni Macca duo with Dom ahead.

04 Nov 2026 11:27:10
Lamine Camara is performing even better across all midfield metrics this season. He's Ligue 1's standout midfielder outside of Vitinha and Neves.

03 Nov 2026 16:56:27
Ed001 if we replayed the Arsenal game, what would you do to get us the result. Or do you believe we're just not at the level yet to beat that Arsenal side set up like that?
There's a lot of praise for that Arsenal side but Brighton showed you can get at them at score against them.

{Ed001's Note - if Isak puts some effort in, we would have got a result. That was the main difference, not talking about the penalty either, his all round game is just so poor at the moment.}

03 Nov 2026 19:20:18
Ed001 tryoni grew into the game and it spoke highly to the lad that as soon as he went off, centrally we lost more control and balance. I'm hoping we buy a top midfielder in January and this young lad is given the same grace as Bradley to flourish there.

{Ed001's Note - he was very good, we need to give him plenty of time.}

03 Nov 2026 20:20:57
interesting take on the match Ed01.
I didn't notice that so much re Isak. I thought, probably like most, that Isak wasn't given a lot of supply.
What could he have done to affect the result positively do you think? To make obvious to the untrained eye that is?

{Ed001's Note - make runs.}

03 Nov 2026 21:13:44
Isak will score goals for us for sure, but I don't think a goal mouth predator is the right profile of striker for Liverpool.

03 Nov 2026 21:19:18
Faithinworrks, I think Isak is an all rounder. He just need to trust his body more and actually put in the effort.

03 Nov 2026 22:00:13
Isak has scored 6 PL goals from 8 PL games (7 starts) that's not a bad conversion rate considering he does not take the penalties like Salah did, at Newcastle his highest PL goals in a season was 23 (5 pens), the problem the team has is not giving him more chances to score, Newcastle could provide the service, no reasons why LFC cant. Ekiteke scored 11 PL goals from 28 games last season.
Isak scored 3 PL goals from 14 apps last season, now has circa double the goals from less appearances than last PL season.

The best profile any forward can have is to score goals, scoring goals is the most important commodity in any game of football, if you don't score you don't win a PL game.

03 Nov 2026 22:03:57
Isak on his own is not enough.
We need goals from other players too.

When we have had really good teams in recent years, it is not just one player on his own.
When we had Torres as he had his best season with us, we had goals from Gerrard, Alonso in midfield.

When we had Suarez, Sterling and Sturridge we had 2 of them hitting double figures.

Salah, Mane, Firmino pretty obvious they all chipped in.

Salah in his last good season 24-25 he hit 29 in the league. Luis Diaz got 13 goals. Gakpo got 10. Diogo R. I. P. he got 6 and so did Szoboszlai. Nunez and Macca got 5 each.

So unless Isak has a player in the mould of Suarez to play off there's just not been the input yet from Wirtz and Barcola. Wirtz may never be that guy. When we had Coutinho he would still score.
Barcola is potentially a very good player but asking him to be something he's not is just not going to happen.

Iraola has to find the right formula.

03 Nov 2026 23:10:27
The issue against Arsenal, in my opinion, was playing into their hands; they're more than happy to sit back and defend for 70 minutes. That's why they've got 17 CB's. We shouldn't have been afraid to give up a little possession in the second half for the sake of stretching them out, creating some space and catching them on the counter, like we did against Brighton, CB's do not like backpedalling, something Brighton actually showed themselves when they got 3 against the gooners. Brighton were also high pressing and aggressively looking for turnovers in the final 3rd which was hugely beneficial, but something I thnk we're still a ways off mastering.

We didn't play to our strengths, for example, Barcola, lightning quick, does anybody remember how many lightning quick runs he made in behind? I've a short memory but I don't think the lad was at a full stretch at any point in the game. There was one or two moments early in the first half, I think that was it, I only really remember him trying to beat settled defenders head on after that, something he's not great at.

Isak's best asset is his timing, particularly when he's arriving into the box, how much of that did we see? Not enough. You put those 2 things together, and the ideal scenario is actually Barcola bombing down the wing, receiving an early ball on the run in behind, preferably down the right-hand side and looking for Isaks run into the box to deliver an early cross. How many times did that happen?

Sure Barcola is dangerous form the left side too of course, and did manage to find pockets of space at times, but they were those little tiny pockets you get on jeans that live inside a bigger pocket, you know the one that nobody knows what it's used for except that one time you got 2 quid stuck in it and never managed to get it back out so your misses ended up throwing that pair out because you can hear it banging around in the washing machine every time she does a load and it was doing her head in but I really miss them jeans, they were favourite pair, and they don't even make them anymore.

What was the question?

03 Nov 2026 23:19:00
Andoni in his press conference tonight said he has not made a complaint about the referee on sunday, his reply when asked was " i have not got any time to make a complaint "

Well Done Andoni telling them to shove it where the Sun doesn't shine? they have always purposefully ignored LFC, you ignore them.

Gravenberch injury may be a blessing in disguise, for adding a midfielder in the winter transfer window, our last notable winter signing was VVD. Gravenberch has been out of sorts but an out of sorts Ryan is still far better than prime McConnell.

03 Nov 2026 23:59:47
I thought we signed Gakpo. And Diaz in the winter?

04 Nov 2026 05:57:19
Along with mancity for cheating we need to ban Arsenal for being anti-football club. Like every game 30-40% of time ball is out of the field.

04 Nov 2026 07:04:55
Just like some thought Lallana, Lambert and Balotelli would replace the goals scored by Suarez, We spunked money on Bracola, Isak and Wirtz to replace the numbers by Salah. Unfortunately it is not happening atm. If wirtz was even 10% of what coutinho did for us, we would be competing for the league by now.

04 Nov 2026 07:25:51
he could also have done more with the chances he had, Arsenal players went to ground straight whenever it looked like he was about to take a shot, could have just faked it. i mean either way, get the goalkeeper to work at least.

04 Nov 2026 09:55:27
First half we looked really dangerous putting crosses in. We seemed to stop doing it in the second half and reverted to the classic Slot tactic of passing it sideways with nobody making any runs. For a manager who never made the players train he sure seems to have engrained that into them.

04 Nov 2026 10:04:41
Just looked up Coutinho's stats. his final run before heading to Barca was12 goals and 8 assists in just 20 games. I might try and watch some highlights of his Liverpool Career. I possibly foolishly did not appreciate how good he actually was. This may be down to how his career went after he left.

04 Nov 2026 10:53:54
"He just need to trust his body more and actually put in the effort."


Ugbes, this is a very good point. I see Isak make runs but he seems to hesitate to go full pelt.

You may be on to something.

03 Nov 2026 18:09:14
Another injury concern Gravenberch has a fractured heel, has not travelled to Turkey will also miss the palace game, and the international break, first game after internationals is man United home Sunday 22 November 16.30 KO Sky sports.

03 Nov 2026 18:33:31
Oh dear, I hope we can cope.

03 Nov 2026 18:47:06
There was warning regarding injuries in Central midfield and the club left andoni short. Here's hoping a top one is sought in January.

03 Nov 2026 19:06:52
Its probably a broken nail, he doesn't try hard enough to break a heal. Or a sweat.

04 Nov 2026 07:06:08
Time to unleash the Japanese sensation Endo.

03 Nov 2026 11:27:52
Just a question, why did OPTA chalk off our shots on target? I did think I saw Macca, Virgil's header and Barcola test Raya. Did I see wrong? Arsenal fans are all over the place making noise about it here.

03 Nov 2026 13:03:33
I can't recall exactly where but I'm positive we did have shots on target that were blocked. Not sure how these things get recorded but I'm not buying the no shots on target headline to be honest.

{Ed025's Note - you had less shots than the Italian army in WW2..

03 Nov 2026 13:10:03
OP, it's all fugazi. We had at least one shot on target from Macca that Raya held easily while potentially having 3 other shots on target that got blocked, as Westwood alluded to.

It's all BS. Kinda like how the "stats" said that Doku cooked Trent at the Etihad a couple of years back. Only to find out later that none of that actually happened.

But sadly, the internet has picked so good luck debunking that "stat".

{Ed025's Note - Raya is booking his summer holiday at Anfield next year so he can relax in peace Oli..

03 Nov 2026 13:30:45
I think they record shots on target by saves being made. I was watching a dodgy link so may have missed one but I don't remember one. Shots heading towards goal that are blocked not being counted makes sense I guess since they didn't reach the target.

03 Nov 2026 13:37:42
A blocked shot is not a shot on target.
I don't remember the MacAllister shot on target so I can't say whether it was one or not.
It's not a stat I'm too bothered about anyway.

Arsenal only had three and one of them was a tame effort by Rice.
I don't think the stat is a 'fugazi' or that there is a stat conspiracy against us though.
What would be the point?

03 Nov 2026 13:42:45
Who cares. Wirtz hit the bar with Raya beaten, Macca should have scored the free header that he fired over the bar and VAR failed to give the most blatant of penalties for the shirt pull on Isak. None count as shots on target but were 3 very narrow escapes for Arsenal that on another day might easily have all resulted in goals and a comfortable win for us - and that was despite them parking the bus and sticking 11 players in their own box.

03 Nov 2026 13:44:38
Infamy, infamy, they all have it in for me! Like you say, what would be the point, Rigsby? It really is getting tedious this "they're all against us". It's complete and utter tosh.

03 Nov 2026 14:01:25
I'm more infuriated with the fact this stat has been altered than I am with Man City's 115 charges.

Just hope Liverpool don't miss out on the title or CL places due to the shots on target stat affecting their final league position.

{Ed025's Note - love it JK..

03 Nov 2026 14:25:01
I can only assume Maccas shot was so far out, and such a weak effort, that it was logged as a failed pass.

{Ed025's Note - i think he went down holding his foot for 5 minutes if im not mistaken Chewy.. :)

03 Nov 2026 14:25:48
Still many opportunities for VAR to influence proceedings, either giving or taking, as the season is still young!
But on the plus side affected teams can expect an apology, usually within a fortnight!

03 Nov 2026 14:43:09
I'm concentrating my efforts on slagging off Wirtz, Kerkez and, to a lesser extent, Barcola, to moan about VAR and shots on target. I only have so much pent up anger in me. I dread the day that the 3 of them start performing. Maybe Alisson's distribution continues to be dire, I may have to turn on him.

03 Nov 2026 15:40:40
We could joke about the 0 shots on target, 1 if you count Macca's floater or 2 if you count Munoz's header.

Or we could talk about 17 shots, 14 inside the box, 9 of which were blocked by an Arsenal defender, one hit the woodwork, 33 crosses, a record (against Arsenal) 52 touches in the box and a blatant penalty not awarded.

I think we're improving guys.

03 Nov 2026 15:54:44
I've honestly forgotten about Sunday's game. I'll judge us on how we do this Sunday. Palace always up their game against us, so let's see if we're up for it.

03 Nov 2026 16:11:23
I found it funny that there is a narrative of how good Arsenal where, and they where, for 15 whole minutes, the rest of the game we played them off the pitch.

Throw into the mix we should have had a clear penalty and its all just bluster from an over hyped team. We are sub 10 games into the league under Iraola and we just played the league winners off the pitch.

Bring on the next 10 games.

03 Nov 2026 16:47:46
Bekind, we did not play them off the pitch. You must've been watching a different game to me.

03 Nov 2026 17:50:01
I thought it was an even game. Probably should have been a draw. But sure so should the game between us and Brighton the week before so that's just the way it goes. Arsenal did their job well so fair play to them.

03 Nov 2026 18:37:46
Not bothered about stats, I'm bothered about the result but I know if we play that well we'll win most of our games.

We lost the game, we played well, Arsenal were defending like the Alamo.

03 Nov 2026 18:53:49
OP it's used for betting so was fiddled to prevent bookies paying out.

03 Nov 2026 19:19:02
I think saying Arsenal was good for 15 minutes is a little over the top, apart from the mistake for the goal, they done little else in that time. Liverpool were slow to get going. That was just a Neville statement during the game, in which he spent the whole game cheering on Arsenal and running Liverpool down whenever he could. Its almost as if someone reminded him of his prediction on Liverpool and man united at the start of the season just before the game.

I see at least 2 shots on target Mac Allister from outside the box and a Van Dyke header tipped round the post from a corner both in the first half. i'm surprised not much has been done about looking into opta stats as they get a lot wrong. I remember having a bet a few years back for A. Gordon to have 2 shots on target, he had 3 in this game one blocked two yards from the goal line he scored and another blocked around 10 yards out, apparently he only had 1 shot on target argued with the betting company pointing out the minutes of the shots, they said they go by opta only then got in touch with opta no reply from them. It's corruption of some sort going on there. I had similar with fouls Joelinton use to be a favourite he once conceded 5 free kicks in the game yet only listed by opta as 3.

The stats are a load of crap when analysing a game unless for betting as they can mean what ever you want it to. Its the same as when they say a ref had a good game because he never booked anyone and you watch the game back and you see 3 leg breaking challenges and 4 shirt pulls and kicking the ball away which he sees and chooses not to punish. And certain players that not matter how hard they try to get themselves booked the ref just won't book them like Joelington, Gabriel, Caceido.

On another day we would have won that match by 3 - 4 goals the chances we created, plus the 3 penalties we should have received pull back on Isak the holding on Gakpo and the handball where the defender decided to fall over and pick the ball up.

The praise Arsenal are getting is a little over the top we dominated them to the point there only awnser was to spoil the game by falling over in the wind at every opportunity despite there 7 at the back most of the game better finishing would have won the game nothing to do with there last ditch tackles or blocking. Which in my opinion is why they will never go on to win a trophy in Europe to limited going forward, interesting that for all the talk about the big signings there going to make, Isak, Rodgers, Barcola, Vini Junior and being the self proclaimed best team in Europe they can't seem to sign anyone.

I would question the ref for this game, he should be sacked like his brother for being so bad in everygame. Nyoni could easily have been sent off for his challenge, I don't think it was a red but them type of challenges have mostly been red cards this season regardless of how bad or not they've been. But not even a yellow is ridiculous. Arsenal player not getting booked for a blatant shirt pull which he managed to see and then another Arsenal player kicking the ball away and no booking. I suppose getting him was our punishment for complaint about always getting these Manchester refs for games against the Manchester clubs.

Arsenal are a team only a Arsenal fan can enjoy to watch, only ground I've been to champions league games included and had no interest in the match.

03 Nov 2026 23:23:56
Opta stats are largely outdated and their only real customers nowadays are the bookies. As a result, you'll see some questionable stats.

03 Nov 2026 10:37:36
Lad's hope you are all well ?. Just want to say that I've given up on refs as in I expect them to feck up every week. I'm not going to get myself annoyed anymore unfortunately it just seems a fact of life now. How Webb is in charge I really don't know as it's on his watch but we all know his past. As Dermot Gallagher he's just a oxygen theif that will never ever call out a ref. Anyway look after yourselves and each other. As a certain Gerry Springer would say ?

YNWA.

03 Nov 2026 10:56:35
"An oxygen thief" ? Love it Barry. It's a sad state of affairs having to resign to the fact that refs/var will never be held accountable for game-changing errors.

03 Nov 2026 11:01:29
Hopefully it will change Chewy but not any time soon I fear. That's why I'm not getting myself annoyed anymore mate.

03 Nov 2026 11:15:42
Gave up on them long ago and accepted we have to be good enough to beat teams when we are being hampered by refs.

03 Nov 2026 11:17:24
They all say these get even out during the season. But we have lost two big games due to referee decisions now. Decisions that impact title race. How the f does it even out if we loose the title by 6 points come May!!

Also, I said this previously this would not happen under Klopp, under Mourinho, under Ferguson, under Pep and now under Arteta.

Klopp would have absolutely rinsed the Premier League and the referees association and pgmol and he is watched and heard universally and his remarks matter.

Iraola is soft very soft. He needs aggression, uncontrollable rage and damage to the image of pgmol and epl is only when they really listen. He has a big platform as a Liverpool manager. He should use it. Scream, cry and create problems don't let anyone listen the end of it. Referees need to fear coming to Anfield and getting it wrong.

Its has happened far too many times against us and sorry it's unacceptable.

03 Nov 2026 11:33:34
Here here Lastfan ?.

03 Nov 2026 11:36:12
But it did happen under Klopp Lastfanofslot? Countless incidents such as the Lucho Diaz fiasco.

Honestly I don't think Klopp bollocking the 4th official every game made the refs do their job any better. Probs made them more nervous and more likely to make a mistake.

03 Nov 2026 11:29:20
Atwell is the ref who gave a goal when the ball went wide of the posts. So it's no surprise that he cannot see an obvious penalty. How he is a Premier League referee is a mystery.

03 Nov 2026 14:58:58
I don't think uncomfortable rage is ever a good thing.

03 Nov 2026 14:59:49
I agree Lastfan, except for the point about "it wouldn't happen under x manager" it very much did. I do think their aitttude and response tosuch decisions maybe helped to influence refs or at least attempt to keep them (somewhat) on point.

In regard to Iraolas' soft nature or lack of aggression, it's one of the traits of that sort of worries me the most. Forgive me for going off on a bit of a tangent here, but when it comes to the players, the man-management etc. I wonder is he capale of motivating a wide range of personalities?

Is he a strong enough character? On one end of the scale you've got the likes of Wirtz, seems a quiet kid, on the shy side maybe, lacking in confidence etc. somebody I'm certain Klopp could easily get the best out of given his skillset. Had Florian come in under Klopp, I'd nearly bet my house te kid would have hit the ground running, or at least adjust in a much much shorter period. I don't see Iraola filling the kid with confidence and motivating him the same why I can imagine Klopp would. (Obviously I'm making presumtions here).

Then on the other end of the scale, is he brash enough to handle the big names (maybe a poor choice of words), has he got the character or the attitude that's going to inspire those in the squad who are much more sure of themselves? I'm notso sure.

I'm not saying he doesn't. He may well do, maybe he's a demon behind closed doors, I've no idea. I just don't see it in the limited public interactions we get with him. I think he's a very good manager; he's certainly proved himself Prem-worthy, technically speaking, no doubt about it.

Do you think that perceived softness or lack of aggression is something that might hold him back in other aspects of his role?


I know people will argue he did it at Bournemout but I feel that naturally, these smaller clubs that aspire to climb the ranks and have to punch above their weight to get there, tend to have a squad of exceptionally hard-working players who may not necessarily need the sort of man-management required to assert yourself on the wide range of 'personalities' I think you find at the very top.

03 Nov 2026 15:12:17
You cannot have aggression and manage a big football club. You need fire and you need to have a very rough side. All goody goody and laughs on normal business days but an absolute effigy of passion and aggression on match day.
Not all aggression is wrong i am not talking about violence here am talking about being stern being no non sense and being feared.

I disagree that managers don't matter. Try giving a wrong decision on a ferguson or mourinho team your career is over.
Even with klopp he will troll you to no end and in every conference. Yes there still might be bad decisions because to err is human but there should never be bias in the game.

This reeks of bias and its bias because huh what will Liverpool do about it. The answer is nothing because these things fall on the manager.

03 Nov 2026 15:45:10
Sounds like a good job for the PR gurus Tony and Neil. Less puff pieces on Michael Edwards please and more about the substandard, and often overcompensating, refereeing performances at Anfield.

Come on Tony and Neil. Get on it.

03 Nov 2026 09:06:13
Morning - Did anyone watch Ref Watch last night where the weekend's ref performances are scrutinised. By god, it was cringeworthy with Demot Gallagher trying his best to defend Atwell's terrible decision not to award us a penalty. Both pundits on the show (Tim Sherwood and someone else) were both fully agreed it was definately a pen, but Gallagher was diverting out of this until in the end he said "well the more you look at it, it does look like a penalty". What a f***ing moron.

He knew it should have been given, but hey, got to stick up for the boys in the club.

The level of refereeing in this league is way behind the elite level usually seen in Europe.

03 Nov 2026 09:30:10
Haven't seen the recent episode but stopped watching a long time ago. Including when Howard Webb makes his appearances.

Just got sick of hearing Dermot just explain away how a ref would make a wrong decision and how VAR couldn't do anything about it unless it was a really wrong decision, not just wrong.

Refs all the way up to Howard Webb are just a different breed of human.

03 Nov 2026 09:35:25
With reference to the RefPro / PGMOL clown show. I notice that the refs kit is sponsored. Where does the sponsorship money go? Obviously the sponsorship is worthless without the TV time and the crowd draw of the clubs involved?

03 Nov 2026 09:45:51
KBL, I watched it online and true to form, Dermot was trying his best to be neutral and started obfuscating which was even worse.

Then (as it has suddenly become the norm after the game), he started saying that had Isak gone down (as in dived) then, that would have made the VAR look into it because he fell down because there would be a reaction. This is hogwash.

VVD said it best, "Why does he need to go down. There are 50 cameras and we all saw it happen. No one seems to have an answer for that.

And one last thing. I hear people saying that had Isak gone down then, he would have surely gotten the pen. Well, I am here to tell you that you are being conned by media propaganda.

Seriously, where/when have you heard after a PL game when something like this happened, and the media pundit class esp. on SS suddenly start saying "Well, maybe Isak should have gone down",

So essentially they claim to want to stamp out diving from the game yet, they're asking a player to dive? That makes no sense to the average bear? Imo, they are saying it to divert and deflect from the fact that the VAR (Atwell) screwed up as bad as Darren England did in the Diaz situation at Spurs, imo.

Cos I promise you had Isak gone down, he wouldn't have gotten the pen either. Why? They would have waived it aside as, "Not too much there", "Not enuff force on the pull" or "Oh, he went down too easily. Play on".

We've heard it all before esp. at Anfield. We know it. We've seen it

So my fellow reds, don't fall for the con from the media. They are trying to manufacture consent and make things go away.

Sorry for the long post, KBL.

03 Nov 2026 09:52:08
Nice read, Ed. I h-thought our guys played well and esp. reacted very well to going a goal down due to an Ali brain fart that tbh, had been coming.

We had a couple of chances to equalise with Wirtz hitting the bar and Macca's header that should have gone in. At 1-1, it is a very diff. game as we were on top of them after they scored.

We just need to improve and keep working hard because Iraola is doing a very good job with the deck he was dealt coming in.

As for the Isak pen, was the VAR really asleep? Or was he doing a Darren England during the Diaz situation at Spurs where he seemed to not know what he was doing nor seemed like he was actually watching the game? i'm going for the latter.

{Ed001's Note - I don't believe England is anything but a cheat and took money for that decision.}

03 Nov 2026 10:18:08
Amazing how the BBC have an article about Darren England calling him a hero for bouncing back from the Diaz "error".

If I made an error like that in my job, I'd be out the door and black listed from my profession.

{Ed001's Note - he should have been.}

03 Nov 2026 10:20:48
Normally Ed I would be surprised by such a comment but then I also saw videos of him pre match telling Gabriel how many yellow cards he's currently on and then fist bumping him afterwards! You couldn't write it!

{Ed001's Note - that was at half-time wasn't it? I saw the pair laughing and joking and fist bumping at half-time on the live coverage here.}

03 Nov 2026 10:30:50
The game is full of corruption as we well know. VAR seems to be a way of validating any decision the refs choose to make as a panel of them agree and they're on the same bung. And how refs are allowed to officiate in the UAE and then take charge of a Man City game a few days later is beyond me. Clear and obvious.

03 Nov 2026 12:22:24
The media aren't trying to make things go away. We really need to get away from this "everyone's against us". It's a complete load of tosh.

My take on it is it should've been a penalty. Isak's reaction to it was bizarre, but sums up his personality. Is it the most outrageous incident in the history of VAR? No. That was the Diaz incident. Like Iraola said, next time such an incident occurs Isak should make more of it. Whether that will have the desired outcome is open to debate and is subjective.

03 Nov 2026 11:17:24
Thanks for the response, Ed. I think this comment was for the Match Day review you did but it appeared here instead. No qualms, man.

Wow, you went there with the Darren England stuff and frankly, I cannot rule that out because you cannot explain it.

Same as the Isak situation. You simply cannot explain how that could have been missed which is why I want the club to demand a full explanation ant the audio on that incident.

Remember when we did it for Diaz, they called us crybabies, only for the tape to reveal the absolute shambles that led us there.

Same with Coote. We were saying this guy was against us and everyone called us victims. only for him to be outed as a scouse/LFC hater and a xhenophobe towards Klopp.

I believe the same Darren England thing happened here with Atwell because there is no way on earth VAR could have missed that.

Or seen it and said, "Yeah, we're sound here". Not in a million years.

{Ed001's Note - the mistakes are too blatant to be honest mistakes.

03 Nov 2026 12:15:02
Hold the phone there Ed1.

You're going to cause a meltdown on these pages by saying that a ref took money. apparently there is no corruption in football.

All that money and there is no corruption.

{Ed001's Note - we all know it is corrupt. A fish rots from the head down & FIFA is the most corrupt of all,

03 Nov 2026 15:06:09
Yes, it's a miserable excuse for them to try and explain away shocking decisions, a feeble attempt to soften the blow through media.

03 Nov 2026 15:34:19
"Everyone's against us".

Rome, no one said that but you so that's your problem. Also, you said that Isak incident was not the worst incident in history. You're right. It wasn't. It was the Diaz incident and who did he play for? Yeah, I thought so.

And who was the VAR that nullified the kung fu kick on Macca by Doku? Stewart Atwell, the same VAR in this game.

It's so bad that Paul Tierney doesn't even do our games anymore. Nor does Darren England who has done about 3 games since the Diaz incident, I think. And Michael Oliver hasn't been seen doing our games since City got convicted. You think all that is a coincidence?

Even the pen Forrest got when Neco was fouled was adjudged to be an error. Who was the VAR that approved the pen? Michael Oliver, the same guy who has been killing us in games since he refused to send Pickford off after the VVD incident, stating that because our players didn't scream about it, he did not give it.

Wait, isn't that the same excuse they are using to bail out Atwell because Isak didn't go down or yell about it? I can keep going.

At the end of the day, We are saying what has been happening and a trend is clearly there. That doesn't mean the "They are all against us" nonsense. It means when something keeps happening byt t the same people, to the same people then, there is a real cause for suspicion. And we will continue to call it out if the trend continues.

After all, we sounded the alarm about David Coote and no one believed us.

Until they did.

{Ed025's Note - you need to pack the persecution complex in Oli, Liverpool dont get treated any different to other clubs...they just complain more, and as for the "kung fu" kick its the biggest myth in history mate the guy never had a mark on him ffs, the problem with Macca is that he is such a 24 carat shithouse that even the referee,s dont believe him anymore, i hope this clears things up for you..

03 Nov 2026 15:53:06
It's what the kids call gaslighting these days, Oli. :)

How Howard Webb has the job after the David Coote thing is ridiculous. At the very least an independent investigation into his organisation should have taken place.

{Ed025's Note - "oh woe is me"..give it a rest guys ffs..

03 Nov 2026 15:35:31
Ed1 wondering if your opinion of corruption changed over past 2-3 years?

I might have remembered wrongly, but recalled few years back u mentioned u dun believe there is corruption. Or was that Ed2 that mentioned it.

For me, VAR seems more like a legalised corruption tool, which is used to rereferee the game the way they want.

{Ed001's Note - Ed 2 & I always used to argue about it as he didn't believe there was any. This recent addition of fake generated pics to show offside is a blatant way to simply fix matches as we have no way of knowing if they got the decision right.

03 Nov 2026 16:10:30
Arh ok fair enough, didn't realise that Ed, still horrible to regardless though right!?

{Ed001's Note - it is not a good look.

03 Nov 2026 18:40:15
Yeah what are those generated pics all about?

I've always thought they're completely meaningless.

{Ed001's Note - it is a way of making it so they can pick the decision they want. How can we know otherwise when the pic is generated and so can be generated to show anything they want it to?}

03 Nov 2026 17:25:58
As a former referee I've always known they are cheating. as Ed01 says, it's impossible to make those mistakes, a trained chimp couldn't get these decisions wrong unless they were cheating. Ed25 just showing his bitter blue side with his responses, which I find odd given Everton also get cheated by anti Scouse referees on a regular basis.
These people are corrupt and have been for over a decade. Coote should have resulted in an investigation, instead they portrayed him as a gay, druggie and a lone wolf. It's obvious they are all in it together as Coote said on that video "I'm telling you now, Liverpool won't win the league this season" which we duly did purely because the referees knew every decision they made against us after that was under scrutiny.

Soon as we won the league they resorted back to the script again. Check the decisions in the seasons before Coote, after Coote was caught and then since we won that season under Slot. Last season they decided Arsenal would win it and it will be the same this season due to the City financial doping, that non pen v Brighton would have been awarded to City in seasons past, it wasn't a handball btw but they were given one v Wolves years ago when it hit the lad on the side of his body. we are watching a rigged league and have been for a decade or more.

03 Nov 2026 09:17:46
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Matchday 9 - Quick Round Up

03 Nov 2026 09:25:20
Brilliant. Thanks Ed.
Look forward to these and to reading this one properly on my lunch break.

{Ed001's Note - I hope you enjoy it mate. Was nice to get it done so early for a change.}

03 Nov 2026 10:48:21
Cheers Ed.

My boss went up to the Emptyhad at the weekend with his two boys (16 and 14) and he said it wasn't as empty as he expected but he did say how poor their support was (although they did apparently sing a song about being relegated with United)

They had a great day and his 14 year old decided to shout "Seagulls" outside of the ground only to hear the reply (Shut up you little C**t) from one of the City fans!

To be honest, that made their day and they quickly got in the car and sped back home to the south coast to avoid any repercussions!

{Ed001's Note - such a sweet story I wasn't expecting that ending.

03 Nov 2026 11:15:47
The analysis of Isak and Barcola is unfortunately accurate. The signings of those two plus Wirtz have been severely disappointing. It's hard to believe that there's so much money spent on the forward line for such little end product. I thought we huffed and puffed but ultimately didn't really do a whole lot.

I thought Arsenal were fairly comfortable especially for the last half hour. But we should have most definitely been awarded a bloody penalty!! Anyway thanks ED01. Great reading! Onwards and upwards!

{Ed001's Note - thanks sg.

03 Nov 2026 11:17:16
Brace yourself Ed01. What you wrote about Bracola, they are coming after you.

{Ed001's Note - maybe. I don't actually remember what I put now.

03 Nov 2026 06:58:59
Just catching up with views on here post the Arsenal match.
Read that we're out of the title race, read that same problems persist as under Slot, that some players don't care, no shots on target means were crap and Arsenal are great etc.

Title race is long and we're improving fast.
There was a stat v Arsenal in the 1st half that we'd had the most touches in the their box than any other team in Premier League history.
We pressed collectively and had them penned in and had wave after wave of attacks. Macca looks better to his best, nyoni was a revelation against rice, guimaraes and odegaard.

If Ali doesn't play that stupid pass they don't score. That's 2 weeks in a row his distribution has been poor.
The game was good to watch not like a Slot game and we deserved something from the game. XG number makes that clear. That's without the penalty we should have had.

Iraola is clearly improving us and we look so much better than last season and the improvement is happening quicker than most expected.
Only negative for me so far is that Barcola doesn't look like he's the player most thought he'd be. Hopefully he proves me and others wrong.

03 Nov 2026 08:08:23
I think that this side needs time, as does this manager. There are signs of improvement but until he can get the side he wants and playing at a tempo he wants then we will struggle against the top sides who are ruthless.

There are still 6 or so players to come back into the squad and then some genuine competition for places. That's a positive if we can keep a fit squad until the end of the season.

There are however some glaring weaknesses in this side. I don't like to write players off but both left backs are lacking different things in my own opinion and that midfield needs a much better balance.

The one I worry about personally is Wirtz and I see him potentially moving on. Gravenberch is also a worry but again both can play, maybe just not what we require in this team. Just my 50 pence worth. Hopefully it continues to improve and I'm completely wrong about both players. I think we would all love to see Luverpool challenge again but we look short in a few areas.

03 Nov 2026 09:24:27
I agree to that. I think the first half was really good (apart from conceding), there was a lot of pressure on the Arsenal defence and we showed some great intensity which we've lacked for a long time. We're improving each week and I'm excited to see the progress. What's weird to me is that it looks like we're just building some team spirit. Especially the signings of last year don't seem to be very integrated, but I think they are finally building some understanding. Back to the game, what should not happen is the growing frustration with the referee. While I was fuming that he gave Arsenal every 50:50 decision which engaged them to dive every time when they were pressed, I think we should have reacted more collectively.

There should be a leader who criticizes the ref, but also encourages his teammates to improve the effort and to not lose their heads.
I think there's a lot to improve and luckily we're already quite good. I've randomly stumbled across the CL final last season and for me there a a few parallels between those games. When Arsenal score early, it's very tough to create a lot of chances against them. PSG needed a penalty as well, and we all know how good they are offensively. I'm not saying we are as good as PSG or will be, but I'm very optimistic that if we continue to work and build a better understanding, we will be successful again and also very enjoyable to watch. Lots to look forward to.

03 Nov 2026 09:34:29
This title challenge talk - where did that come from? Feel like it suddenly crept up because mathematically we could be right there in the "race" if we happened to beat Arsenal.

We are a flawed squad that is building with a new coach.

This year it's top 4 and anything else is a bonus. The idea that one victory against Arsenal would have us right in the title challenge was immature.

03 Nov 2026 09:57:48
Indeed, faith. The title challenge talk was mainly media driven esp. after we won 5 in a row in all comps. and dispatched Brighton with aplomb going in. And many of our fans bought into it going into the game and I don't blame them because the optimism was there, tbh. I never believed it esp. if your are just in week 9, not even in week 19.

The team has too much ground to cover and too much progress to make to even begin to challenge Arsenal who are in year 7/8 with the same manager who has spent a billion on building a squad. You can't cover that chasm in 3 months. Iraola is that good but he ain't no miracle worker.

People just need to relax, support the team, the players and the manager because we are improving progressively and we simply cannot cheat the process. You simply cannot.

03 Nov 2026 11:03:34
I think there have been a lot of reactionary comments; had things gone our way, it could have easily been 3-1, Isak penalty, Macca's header and Wirtz's free kick off the bar. Had that happened the same reactionary commenters would be shouting from the rooftops how we hammered the champions and the title race was back on, despite it having been the exact same performance.

03 Nov 2026 11:19:20
You make a good point, Chewy. It's all reactionary, really. Emotions and all that.

It's sports at the end of the day and sports without any emotion is nothing.

03 Nov 2026 11:40:59
Are City & Chelsea in the title talk as both also have new coaches?

03 Nov 2026 12:03:42
The reason we are not in the title race @Jk is that we have lost a guy who had a habbit of scoring 30 goals every year for 7 good years. No matter what people say about, New coach, training methods, intensity, running habbits blah blah and more blah blah, that's the fact and the only fact.

It was similar with Suarez, Unless you don't find those 25 plus goals (which we have tried by spunking 300 mil), we ain't in the any race,

03 Nov 2026 15:37:00
Sonic, City don't exist anymore. And Chelsea won't be winning any titles for the time being.

In fact, Alonso had better be very careful because after two straight losses before the United win, many of their fans were already on him and asking for him to go because he wasn't playing their golden boy Estevao.

03 Nov 2026 21:20:50
I don't care about City and Chelsea.

We can all see the flaws in our squad.
We can also the positive signs in patches

The idea that a flawed squad playing inconsistently is going to challenge for the title, again, is immature.

Even if we had beat Arsenal it wouldn't have changed anything in my mind other than to be another positive step towards becoming a title challenging team.

03 Nov 2026 07:23:03
Where's the beast Ed666. I need to read his view?

{Ed666's Note - Mate I’m bitterly disappointed. You want my opinion I’ll give it you. I know people will accuse me of being the angel of doom and an anti Liverpool fan but quite honestly we were pathetic. Let me preface this by saying I don’t blame Irola for any of this because he’s inherited on the whole a bunch of clowns and I would hope his squad be exponentially different at the start of next season. I don’t care about the Isak non penalty and the Macalister chance. We were bloody awful. How many misplaced passes? How many counters broke down because of the clumsy telepathy between midfield and attack? This midfield is dysfunctional at best and needs surgery. You cannot make any more excuse’s for the forwards. What’s the point of Isak? What’s the mitigation for Barcola losing the ball all the time, running into blind alleys, can’t take on his man and looking like a grotesquely expensive mistake. Wirtz? When is he gonna actually take a game by the scruff of the neck the way Cherki does? How much more time does he need to get in tune with the pace of the Premiership? I can’t see where some people think we played well? At no point did I think we were going to win that match. In fact I don’t even think we deserved a draw. I honestly don’t care if I get flack for my sentiments. I’m gonna say my truth. We had a real opportunity to become title challengers and we bottled it. Don’t get me started about Kerkez and Gakpo. Our left side is pitiful. The only light at the end of the tunnel is Ronald & JJ. I’m gonna halt my diatribe now because I’m just so angry and frustrated

04 Nov 2026 07:26:37
Don't bottle it up Ed, Let it all out ???.

02 Nov 2026 23:17:47
There's soo much praise for this Arsenal defense that can be got at btw.
But When virg stayed forward towards the end of the game, he won every ball and I was confident he'd win every header. His presence was actually immense and he played some lovely touches and balls to attackers. I thought he was brilliant.

02 Nov 2026 23:56:32
We lost the game mate. He could have cut the ball out from the Arsenal cross that led to the goal so no amount of flick ons can make up for that. Any team that resorts to the CB being left up the field just highlights the desperation.

03 Nov 2026 03:11:19
whats really worrying is no shots on target. Not even testing Raya is a big worry and although so many chances created out front 3 couldn't convert.

03 Nov 2026 06:53:24
Before the game, A lot of posters were confident we would thrash them by at least a two goal margin, Suddenly they have become the best team in the universe.

03 Nov 2026 07:45:44
It's wild people solely go off what Opta says for stats, Macca a shot from about 30 yards and had Raya not been in goals it would have went in meaning its a shot on target but Opta pick and choose what shots they count which helps the betting companies too, they don't count woodwork as a shot on target when in previous seasons it was counted, there was 3 occasions where Liverpool players hit the ball towards the Arsenal net and had there been no keeper the ball goes in the net so I am dumb founded how they aren't counted as shots on target because they are the be all and end all of stats.

03 Nov 2026 07:49:07
Maybe because they kept in mind that we had beaten Brighton the week before? The same Brighton that beat both ManCheats and Arsenal this season so far? It's kind of logical, but let's not let that get in the way. ?.

03 Nov 2026 09:02:10
Raya didn't make a save so how could the ball have gone in had he not been in goal, ChickenEkitikka?

{Ed001's Note - he caught a shot from Mac Allister, so he defo made a save, stats sites are just spreading bullshi* now.}

03 Nov 2026 10:03:49
Yeah, Ed. Seems the Opta stats bozos have succeeded in manufacturing consensus that LFC didn't have a shot on target whereas they had one from Macca and potentially another 3, per @Chicken.

Sounds like when a couple of years back, people said Doku had cooked Trent at the Etihad, saying that he had completed the most dribbles vs an opponent that season or something, according to the "stats".

Only to find out that he did next to nothing and that the stats were fugazi. But you know what they say, "A lie will travel around the world before the truth is done tying it's shoe laces". Or something like that.

{Ed001's Note - stats sites are absolute bollox these days. They just want something to post up on social media it seems it is all about getting attention for their useless nonsense.}

03 Nov 2026 11:18:27
VVD is an is physically exceptional, he's also an excellent footballer, people forget what he was like in his younger days, and at Celtic, lad would run the pitch, beat half the team and score, he's well capable of charging forward and taking players on, something I'm sure was coached out of him, I'd say he actually layed as a striker as a kid but because of his size was moved to CB.

He used to take the free kicks up there in Scotland and bang in some absolute worldies, he has a great touch and level of finesse you wouldn't expect from a bloke his size.